Caleb (Buffyverse)
Caleb is a fictional character played by Nathan Fillion in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer created by Joss Whedon. The character is a sadistic sociopath with a pathological hatred of women. According to Whedon, the character was introduced because the mutable, non-corporeal nature of the First Evil "meant that we didn't really have anything to push against. We needed... a sidekick. Somebody physical that we can see from episode to episode." Whedon describes him as "the creepiest priest", adding, "he is the most bald-faced misogynist we've had since, well, since last year, with Warren." Biography The Calling Prior to becoming the right-hand man of the First Evil, Caleb was a defrocked priest and serial killer responsible for the deaths of at least two girls, whom he lured with his stirring sermons and masculine charm. One of these was Betty; the second girl was apparently a choir girl in Knoxville, Tennessee. However, the First implies many more than two, making a reference to "all these girls" who followed him. Caleb was responsible for organizing the Harbingers of Death's systematic attacks on the Potential Slayers, as well as their respective Watchers. Caleb was also responsible the bombing of the Watchers Council Headquarters in London, causing the deaths of Quentin Travers and many other Watchers, such as Phillip, Lydia and Nigel. However, while the Council was indeed crippled, a few Watchers, such as Roger Wyndam-Pryce and Duncan Fillworthe, survived the First's onslaught. , in the form of Buffy]] After the destruction of the Council, Caleb traveled to the United States. He presented himself at a Catholic mission in the town of Gilroy. He was welcomed and given food, though he disturbed the mission's members because of his rantings about destiny. Caleb uncovered a secret room which bore an inscription that translated to "It is not for thee. It is for her alone to wield". Afterward, Caleb turned on his benefactors, burning his mark into one of them and killing the rest. Later he seemingly traveled to the women's prison in Stockton, where he tried to have Faith Lehane eliminated by her fellow inmate Debbie, though the would-be-assassin failed in her task. Sunnydale Afterward, Caleb made his way to Sunnydale, running into a Potential Slayer named Shannon on a highway. Shannon had been on the way to Sunnydale as well, but was targeted by a group of Bringers who drove her right to Caleb's truck. Believing herself to be safe, Shannon told Caleb she was on her way to Revello Drive. Caleb quickly turned on Shannon, burning his mark on the side of her neck, stabbing her in the stomach and throwing her to the highway, knowing she would be found by Willow Rosenberg and Faith. Before injuring her, Caleb gave Shannon a message for Buffy Summers: "I have something of yours". After arriving in Sunnydale, Caleb set up camp at the Shadow Valley Vineyards, where the Bringers began to dig in order to find the artifact Caleb had been seeking in the Gilroy Mission. Due to Caleb's challenge, the Scooby Gang attacked the Vineyard. In the ensuing fight, Caleb murdered two potential Slayers and effortlessly defeated Buffy, Faith, and Spike. The murders enraged Buffy enough that she was able to knock him down temporarily to allow the group to escape. However, before the Scooby Gang retreated, he also managed to violently gouge out Xander Harris's left eye with his bare hands. Before he could do more, Spike knocked him down and Caleb allowed the group to escape. Death Caleb confronted Buffy in the Guardian's tomb empowered by a new transfusion of power from the First. Buffy, who had started to be able to fight Caleb better, was no match for him even with the Scythe. As Caleb prepared to kill Buffy with the Scythe, Angel suddenly arrived and knocked Caleb out for a moment, allowing Buffy to recover, although she refused further help from Angel, wanting to finish the job herself. The two fought again and this time Buffy managed to slice Caleb across the stomach with the Scythe, apparently killing him. However, Caleb's recent transfusion of power apparently granted him great endurance and he rose again and knocked Angel out for a final confrontation with Buffy. While still incredibly powerful, his wound apparently weakened him a bit, as Buffy was able to fight more evenly with Caleb. Finally, Buffy killed Caleb by using the Scythe to cut him vertically from the groin up. As Angel regained conscious, aware Buffy had killed Caleb and ready for another round, Buffy jokingly confirmed that Caleb 'split'. The First later confirmed that Buffy did in fact kill him that time. Legacy Some time later, the First Evil appeared to Buffy, manifesting under the guise of the slain Caleb. The First lectured Buffy on the futility of her campaign against it, and it is this meeting that encourages Buffy to come up with her plan to activate the remaining Potentials to full Slayer status using the essence of the Scythe. Buffy later dreamed that Caleb was again alive, in the home of The Seed of Wonder, with her claiming "I left you in a smoking crater." After he lectures Buffy while she's devastated by her two vampire lovers, Angel and Spike, kissing each other, the dream changes to Caleb heading the wedding ceremony of Buffy and a skinless Warren Mears. Caleb was also one of the red herrings thought to be behind the mask of Twilight. When Buffy attempted to cut Twilight in half by the crotch, he retorted with, "I know that move, Slayer." Twilight was eventually revealed to be Angel, who was present when Buffy defeated Caleb. Powers and Abilities * Biblical Knowledge: Prior to becoming a preacher of The First Evil's "glory", Caleb was a preacher who was defrocked due to his insanity. Despite this, Caleb would often go on to do long sermons to the First Evil, preaching his glory and even manipulating biblical terminology and quotes to suite his own twisted views the the First Evil is not just God, but is far beyond such a definition. Even the First Evil found his sermons admirable and enjoyed them to the point where the First Evil eve encouraged him to keep on preaching. * First Evil Empowerment: Caleb's body served as a vessel for some of the power of the noncorporeal First Evil and imbued him with immensely powerful strength and endurance. ** Biological Mutations: The merger also temporarily turned Caleb's eyes solid black and mutated his blood into a thick oily substance. ** Superhuman Strength: With the exception of Illyria, Glory, Marcus Hamilton, The Beast, Jasmine and maybe Adam, Caleb's strength dwarfed that of most beings in either show; he was able to shatter solid concrete with his bare hands, snap people's necks with ease and send an opponent flying dozens of feet with a single blow. ** Superhuman Endurance: Caleb's empowerment also allowed him with superhuman durability which borders on near invulnerability. It allows him to survive lethal injuries, as demonstrated when he revived after being severely wounded with the Scythe. Because of how powerful he was, it took cutting him in half to kill him completely, something that the First confirmed did actually kill him for good. ** Psychic Powers: Caleb also possessed a degree of psychic abilities, able to detect the aura and powers of his opponents, track them, and read their minds. ** Combat Prowess: In their first encounter, he effortlessly defeated the entire Scooby Gang and their large numbers of Potentials, even managing to outmatch the combined might of Buffy, Faith, and Spike. However, none of these knew what they were up against and were unprepared. With more experience against him and Caleb's powers starting to wane, his advantages diminished over time in Buffy's case with the two fighting nearly evenly before he is empowered again. Afterwards, even with his strength restored, he wasn't able to win as easily as before. Although Buffy had a somewhat easier time defeating him afterward, he still possessed incredible power. Weaknesses * Temporary Powers: However, Caleb's powers were only temporary, requiring periodical mergers with the First's manifestation in order to sustain it. * Extreme Injuries: By slicing him in half, Buffy was able to finally kill him. Personality and Traits Behind his priest's collar, Caleb was a sadistic misogynist. Impressed by his body's fortitude as well as his single-minded nature, the First Evil made him the commander of its campaign of carnage and mayhem. He liked to reenact his killings by asking the First to take on the form of the girls he had killed, so that he may "kill them again". Caleb was also quite likely insane. Given that The First chose Caleb of all humans, and presumably demons, as its general, it can be assumed that Caleb was one of the most evil living beings on the planet. Beliefs Caleb often delivered quasi-biblical quotes, frequently even making allusions to his belief that the First was actually God. Caleb seemed to quote the Old Testament in order to support his own twisted beliefs. For example, his views on women being evil related to his views on Eve, the biblical first female (in the Jewish and Christian book of Genesis), and how she gave Adam, the first created man and first created human, the forbidden fruit. When the First asked Caleb if he thought the First was God, Caleb replied that he believed the First is beyond such definition. Caleb also commented further on his admiration of the First, when it (under the guise of Buffy) vocalized its envy of humans' ability to feel lust and engage in primal sexual acts and/or violence. Caleb dismissed them all as "sinners", commenting enthusiastically that the First is miles beyond that, for it is "Sin" itself. Behind the scenes *He was portrayed by Nathan Fillion. *When asked about Caleb's religious connections, Joss Whedon said "I'm not coming down against priests. This guy clearly is not one." *Caleb was introduced, according to Joss Whedon, because the mutable, non-corporeal nature of the First Evil "meant that we didn't really have anything to push against. We needed... a sidekick. Somebody physical that we can see from episode to episode." Whedon describes him as "the creepiest priest", adding "he is the most bold-faced misogynist we've had since, well, since last year, with Warren." *Caleb could be considered a true polar opposite to Nathan Fillion's previous Joss Whedon created character (Malcom Reynolds) in many ways. While Caleb is a villain, Mal was the hero of the story, and while Caleb is a defrocked priest, Mal lost his faith during the war several year before the Firefly series. Perhaps the most ironic, however, is their respective views on women, Caleb being an extreme misogynist, while Mal seemed to have a deep respect for women in general. *Caleb is the last character in the TV series to be killed by Buffy (but not Buffy's final kill in the series, as she dusts some Turok-Han afterward). *Nathan Fillion and Carrie Southworth, who plays Betty, one of Caleb's victims, worked together again in "A Death in the Family", the season one finale of Fillion's series Castle. Notes *Despite Buffy's aversion to killing humans, to the point that she nearly turned herself over to the police after "killing" Katrina Silber, she killed Caleb with no hesitation, something previously unseen in her character. This may be due to his great power and near-unstoppable nature: there simply was no other way to stop Caleb. Appearances ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' Buffy Season Eight *''A Beautiful Sunset'' *''Always Darkest'' (Only in dreams) External links * Category:Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters Category:Male characters in television Category:Characters created by Drew Goddard Category:Fictional priests and priestesses Category:Fictional commanders Category:Fictional henchmen Category:Fictional mass murderers Category:Fictional serial killers Category:Fictional avatars Category:Fictional psychopaths Category:Fictional deceased Category:Fictional telepaths Category:Fictional characters with superhuman strength Category:Fictional characters introduced in 2003